The Importance of Giving Back (Day 21 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge)

hopehuggs (67)in #ecotrain • 6 years ago (edited)

I think that there won’t be many of us who didn’t look forward to Christmas when we were children. We couldn’t wait to see what our presents were and depending on how strict our parents were, we’d be up at the crack of dawn to open them.

We write wish lists, letters to Santa, circle things in catalogs, but it really was all about the presents we would get. Would we get the big thing that we dreamed off? It was all about the receiving.

As we grow older, things change a little, we still appreciate thoughtful gifts of course, but it seems to be more fun and satisfying to give gifts, especially when you have children.

A lot of pleasure can be had from picking the right gift and imagining little eyes light up when they see it, then on the day the squeals of delight as they open the gifts under the tree (then play with the boxes for the remainder of the day haha).

Giving Makes Us Happy

The lesson here is that giving makes us happy.

It’s not just about physical gifts, it's our time, a kind word, our love, some good advice, an ear to listen, a shoulder to cry on, or a hug - it just makes us feel good to give back.

Giving increases our own happiness and by its very nature that of others too.

It makes perfect sense to concentrate on finding ways we can give back to live happier and fulfilled lives. So today, think about different ways that you can give back.

You might consider volunteering, that is a great starting place - helping at your child’s school, an animal shelter, a soup kitchen, reading to people at the local hospital or asking at your local church. There are a multitude of opportunities if you look and it depends on what you’d like to do at well and whether you are more of an animal or a people person, or what causes and issues strike a chord with you.

It could be that you are not able to get out of the house much, there are still plenty of ways to give back…

If you are crafty, you could knit squares, or preemie caps, or make pet blankets. And there are SO many things online that you could do, just search for online volunteer opportunities.

You will see almost immediately how good it feels when you start volunteering and giving back as often as you can as on top of happiness, it instills a sense of pride and purpose. It really is a wonderful feeling and I really wish and hope that every last one of you gets to feel that feeling on a regular basis.

Start volunteering and giving back and notice how good it makes you feel. It instills a sense of pride and purpose in you and that, in turn, will help increase your overall happiness. Giving back to your community and family is a wonderful feeling.

(Pictures from pixabay.com)